1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to photography, and particularly to leader strips which are capable of being passed through a motion picture apparatus or projectors having a feeding mechanism therethrough. In particular, the present invention relates to a flexible leader strip capable of removing gum or accumulations of materials deposited upon motion picture equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various procedures and articles have been advocated and produced for leader strips and they usually involve applying various coatings to films in order to protect and condition the film as they pass through a photographic apparatus. As is noticed in actual practice, dust, debris, emulsion resins and gums of various types are formed upon the contact surfaces of motion picture projectors, cameras and similar apparatus. They accumulate upon various metal surfaces of such equipment that come in contact with the film and result in a continuous build-up thereon. These accumulations are collectively called and referred to herein as "gums". In particular, the film gate and certain other proximate and associated parts are susceptible to progressive build-ups of these gums derived from advancing film during travel through the equipment. The final result gives rise to a number of effects which cause marring or scratching of the surface of the film.
Various compositions have been advocated for cleaning and removing gums on the contacting surfaces of the motion picture and film-strip projectors and camera equipment. Such compositions must be routinely applied to remove the gums that have been deposited. Further, oftentimes it is necessary to almost dismantle the equipment in order to properly apply such chemical cleaning agents. Moreover, a number of conditioning and cleaning means have been developed which address themselves to this particular problem. In this regard, a number of abrasive or scraping compositions have been applied to a leader strip in order to remove any gums or emulsion build-up from the film gate portion of the apparatus. Many of these compositions had to function as an abrading as well as polishing strip. Most of these compositions are inorganic in nature and present rather abrasive material of extensive hardness to remove the build-up of emulsion. For an example, carborundum and various silicon-containing compositions or minerals have been used for removing gum build-up. Although most of these compositions have been used, there have been noticed a number of harmful and deleterious effects resulting from their application. The sharp, abrasive constituents used in the composition oftentimes cut into the metal gate portion and associated parts of the photographic apparatus. Thus, a number of compositions including jeweler's rouge have been used in conjunction with these abrading materials to polish the otherwise extensively scratched and marred gate portion and associated parts. Although various buffing and polishing ingredients have been incorporated with the abrading compositions, they have not proven adequate and satisfactory in the trade.